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The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, best known for her role in the movie Shirley Valentine, has died at the age of 85.

She died peacefully in her London care home, surrounded by her family after living with Parkinson's for several years, as stated by her relatives.

Her legacy will be defined for her depiction of disgruntled housewife Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's acclaimed motion picture, based on the celebrated theatrical production by playwright Willy Russell.

Her critically acclaimed performance won her the Golden Globe Award for outstanding actress along with a BAFTA award.

'Witty Presence'

Collins' family said in a statement: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, portraying diverse characters in her career. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on stage and screen. Her distinguished work saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"Her memory will endure as the iconic, strong-willed, vivacious and wise Shirley Valentine - a part she completely owned. We knew all those parts of her because her charm was embedded in each one of them."

The statement continued she was their "devoted mother, our beloved grandmother and great-grandmother", and actor John Alderton's "life-long love"

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was constantly supportive," they expressed, thanking her carers, who cared for her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love"

"She could not have had a calmer departure. We ask that you recall her at the peak of her career; so joyful and full of energy; and allow us privacy to contemplate a life without her"

New York Theater

Collins first played the lead part of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theatre in London in 1988. She received that year's Olivier award for outstanding actress.

The following year she returned to the character on Broadway, New York, where she picked up numerous prizes including a prestigious Tony award.

The film of the same name was released later that year.

Additional movie roles included 1991's City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which gained her international fame worldwide.

A native of Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near Liverpool and started out her career as a educator.

Her passion for theater inspired her to pursue acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she had a cameo role as a medical attendant in the TV series Emergency Ward 10.

She featured in the film Secrets of a Windmill Girl in 1966, playing a fictional dancer in a London adult entertainment venue, the Windmill Theatre.

After a number of stage roles, she employed her regional dialect to land a role on the show The Liver Birds.

Her acting career that she met her husband John Alderton. They wed in 1969 and had three children, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

Alderton and Collins starred alongside each other in a variety of screen projects, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in the acclaimed ITV program.